


Above the Broken Stars

by FortunesArkHero



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Star Wars - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 21:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15277041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FortunesArkHero/pseuds/FortunesArkHero
Summary: The war was over and Ben knew he had lost, but if knowing that Rey would be the one to walk away alive from all of this, then perhaps dying wasn't so bad after all.





	Above the Broken Stars

**Author's Note:**

> An AU of how I foresee Episode 9 going down. Of course, this is purely all speculation and will remain that way but it is always fun to imagine.

_ Just one strike, that would be all Luke needed. _

 

_ Just one strike was needed to kill Ben Solo. _

 

_ Luke ignited his lightsaber, the green hue of the weapon fought against the darkness of his nephew’s small hut.  This was the least cruelest way that Luke could think of, to kill him in his sleep. He just had to rake it across his throat, run it through his back, bore it through his skull, whichever was the most effective and quick.  He would end this. End the darkness once and for all. Luke worked so hard to rebuild what the Empire had destroyed and he would not let it all fall again. Not at the hands of his family again. Luke saw into Ben’s heart. So much darkness for such a young man.  Ben was too far gone to be saved. He  _ had  _ to die. _

 

_ No, that was wrong.  Everything Luke had just thought was wrong. _

 

_ Ben was just scared and needed someone to guide him.  He didn’t have to die. He could be saved. _

 

_ “Uncle Luke?” _

 

_ It was the sound of the lightsaber that had awoken Ben, and it was the sight of his uncle with his lightsaber ignited and a murderous look in his eyes that frightened Ben to his very core worse than Snoke could have possibly ever done.  Before either man spoke a word, Ben shot out his right hand, his lightsaber found its way to its master like it had numerous times. The mesh of green and blue sparked in the hut. Luke screamed for him to stop, to let him explain. He knew Ben wouldn’t listen if he tried to explain.  All he knew was what he saw, and that was his uncle standing over him with the intent to kill. Ben outstretched his left hand and used his power to grasp the energy that bound the hut together and pulled down. The stone hut crumbled and began a downpour upon Luke, and Ben used the Force to shield himself from the brunt of the collapse _

 

_ He dusted himself free from the rubble, his knuckles a bit scratched and bloody and turning a very pale white as he gripped his lightsaber with rage.  Luke betrayed him. Luke  _ betrayed _ him.  How dare he!?  Why would he do that!? So many things swirled within Ben’s mind, but one thing was adamantly clear to him: Luke feared his power and his solution was to kill him.  Ben’s breathing came out angry and ragged. A prelude to a panic attack. Ben knew how to stop the attacks from truly happening. He closed his eyes and counted to five.  With each number he counted, the same thought repeated in his head: Luke tried to kill him. Ben exhaled as he opened his eyes, the panic was beset and a new emotion filled him. _

 

_ Hate. _

 

_ If Luke wanted to destroy him, Ben would destroy everything Luke loved. _

 

_ Starting with his students. _

 

Kylo Ren bolted upright in his bed, his hair a matted mess as it clung to his face.  His breathing was sharp and quick as he whipped his head from side to side. After a moment of clarity and realizing he was indeed the only one within his chambers, Ren let out a more resigned sigh.  He buried his head in his hands, gripping his hair in tight fistfuls as he tried to force the memories to subside. He hadn’t thought about that night in years. 6 years to be exact. Snoke had forbidden him from thinking about that night.  He was Ben Solo on that night and to think of that night was to still cling to the past. To the light. And he did not want to incur Snoke’s wrath if his thoughts continued to dwell on the life of a child long dead.

 

_ Young Solo.  Just a child in a mask. _

 

Ren took in and released a slow breath, and repeated this process for another minute.  He wasn’t a child any longer. He was the Supreme Leader of the First Order. He was to be feared.  He was powerful. Then why didn’t he feel powerful? Why did he feel like he was the one who was afraid?  Snoke was gone, there was no reason to be afraid anymore. And why after all these years was it  _ that _ memory that played within his mind again? Perhaps it was Luke?  Maybe the old man was right and this was his way of haunting him from the afterlife.  

 

His mind wandered back to that infuriating day on Crait.  Luke had come to confront him and Ren had been so caught up in his anger for his uncle that he failed to realize that it was an illusion.  He wanted it to be Luke, wanted him to be real so he could end him with one simple stroke of his saber. Although not done by his own hand, Death had indeed come for Luke.  Ren had felt it happen not long after the projection of Luke faded. It wasn’t painful for him like Ren wanted. Luke didn’t suffer when he should have. Luke helped stoke the spark of the Resistance just when their hope was extinguished.  He had felt at peace.

 

_ My uncle is a fool to believe he died with a purpose. _

 

Ren again sighed slowly as he released his hair from his fists and found that his right fingers were touching the tip of the scar.  The scar that had been given to him by that damned scavenger.  _ Rey _ , he thought to himself.   _ Her name is Rey. _  Not a word had been spoken between them in months, not since he knelt before her and she slammed the door to his father’s ship in his face through their last Force-bond encounter.  He has tried to forget about her. Oh, by the stars, he has  _ tried. _  He would have liked nothing more than for his thoughts to be free of her, but he couldn’t purge her from them.  The last image he saw of her, the disappointment and rejection aimed towards him from her, it struck him to the very depths of soul.  

 

Snoke lied.  He didn’t forge their bond.  Strengthened, maybe, but he did not create it.

 

It should’ve disappeared the moment the saber bisected him.  But it was still there.

 

The bond he shared with Rey was  _ real _ .

 

Ren freshened himself up and made his way to the bridge of their new Star Destroyer, his heavy footsteps echoed like thunder.  As the doors to the bridge closed behind him, Ren couldn’t help but notice that the eyes of the officers focused on him briefly before they returned to their duties.  They hated him and he knew it. It didn’t matter to him. They could hate and fear him all they wanted. He still commanded them and no one would would dare go against his authority.  

 

Well, no one except Hux.

 

Oh, how he truly  _ hated _ Hux.

 

Ren approached the large window on the bridge of the ship, noting that Hux stood a mere few feet away from him.  In his view, he saw a planet, one that was very lush and green. It reminded him of Alderaan from the stories his mother had told him.  She had told him that sometimes she wondered what were to happen if Alderaan had not been destroyed. She would rule as effectively as she could, with grace and elegance but be strong and firm as steel.  He often wondered if the planet hadn’t been obliterated and he had not gone down the path set before him, would Leia have passed down the title of ruler to him. He remembered how sad it made her to speak of Alderaan, as a child he made sure to keep her tears from falling and made her smile with his goofy faces and-

 

_ Stop.  She means nothing to you.   _

 

_ No, _ you  _ mean nothing to  _ her.

 

“What is the name of this planet?”

 

“Devaron.  It’s a forest planet with some lakes and rivers, mostly inhabited by the Devaronian race.  They haven’t caused the First Order much trouble-”

 

“This is  _ not _ the reason you wanted me down here, General.”

 

Hux’s jaw clenched and Ren revelled in the anger that he felt coming from the other man.  Hux took in a breath and exhaled sharply. “Supreme Leader,” he said with venom laced in his tone.  “I have worked with you long enough to know that you do not take kindly to little annoyances. I can assure you that telling you of this planet’s brief history is  _ not _ why I wanted an audience with you.  The Resistance has taken refuge in the decrepit ruins of an old rebellion base.  They are more than likely gathering the scraps of what supplies has survived since those days.”

 

Ren’s eyes focused on Devaron.  The Resistance, probably what remained of their small numbers, had hidden on this planet.  He could end it right now. He could give Hux the order to eradicate what remained of the feeble Resistance and keep them from spawning again once and for all.  He just had to tell Hux to do it. One simple little command. 

 

_ Destroying the Resistance means  destroying Rey and your mother. You already failed at that. _

 

“Goddamn it, will you shut up!?” he growled.  Ren’s gaze momentarily trailed to Hux, noting that his face had faltered to that of the perplexed nature before he averted his eyes back to Devaron.  He cleared his throat, waiting to see if the other man was going to continue and say something. When Hux made no move to continue, Ren licked his lips briefly.  “Take a small squad of your best stormtroopers and put an end to the enemy. Do not return until you finish them.” Ren turned on his heel, his cape billowed behind him as he began to walk away from the man.  Hux was an idiot, but he was fully capable of dealing with the Resistance without him.

 

“Leia Organa is on that planet, sir.”

 

Ren stopped dead in his stride.  The General, the hope of a meager group of fighters, had taken shelter with them.  Ren’s jaw clenched again, his lips pursed in thought. He would be lying to himself if he denied that he had thought about her since the bridge of her ship was destroyed and she was jettisoned into space.  With how close their ships were to each other, he felt that she wasn’t dead. Her connection to the Force surprised him sometimes. She had never truly shown her potential with the Force in his youth, but she really surprised him.  

 

Did she know he didn’t fire on her?

 

_ You know you can’t kill her. You can protect her.  You are the Supreme Leader, now. You can go to the planet and- _

 

Ren bit his bottom lip so hard that he drew blood.

 

“General, I am going down to the planet along with your troopers.  If they see Organa before I reach her, she is to be apprehended, not harmed.”

 

“For what purpose!? If she dies, the Resistance will-”

 

Ren outstretched his hand backwards toward Hux, not even looking at him but knowing that he was doing what he wanted.  Hux grappled at his throat as he dropped to his knees, his breathing coming out in choked gasps as Ren used the Force to squeeze tighter.  He felt invisible fingers grip his throat, damn near crushing it completely. A shiver crawled down his spine as Ren’s boots echoed louder within his ears every step the Supreme Leader took toward him.  Ren knelt down next to Hux, his dark brown eyes narrowed on to the man, almost as if a predator had spotted wounded prey and knew they could go in for the kill with ease. Hux’s eyes, normally an electric blue but now bloodshot and rimmed with tears as Ren choked him within an inch of his life, found their way to the man that the General had held a hate for that no normal person could comprehend.

 

“My intentions for keeping Organa alive are just that, General.   _ My _ intentions.  And my intentions for keeping her alive do not concern you at all.  You will do as I command and  _ only _ apprehend her.”

 

Hux sputtered, coughing and inhaling the sweet artificial air of the Star Destroyer.  Ren stood up, the General gave him one last glare before the Supreme Leader turned on his heel and took his leave.  He massaged his throat gently as he staggered to his feet. The eyes of the entire bridge had fixated their gaze on their General, their expressions were a mixture of confusion, concern and fear.  Hux adjusted his coat with a scowl on his face, the signal his crew knew meant they had better return to work or face his now seething wrath. He breathed in through his nose, his nostrils flaring as it seemed that his anger was retreating excruciatingly slow.  He set his jaw as he folded his hands behind his back. Hux turned around and faced the window, approaching it to gain the view of Devaron once more. To his right, a young man clad in a First Order lieutenant uniform stood next to him, his hands instead straight down his sides.  

 

“Well, then, Lieutenant.  You have your orders, then.”

 

“Yes, sir.  The troopers are being prepped and the transport ship has already been fueled and is waiting for you in the hangar bay.”

 

“Good,” Hux said as he craned his neck over his shoulder, his gaze now locked in the direction Ren had gone off to, more than likely with him returning to his chambers.  “I believe it indeed  _ is _ time for the First Order to put an end to the enemy.”

 

Ren sat on the edge of his bed, his head hung low and gaze casted to his balled up fists that rested on his knees.  The Resistance and his mother were hiding on a planet, and the First Order found them. Within some sort of desperate and pathetic childish thought that he had held on to, Ren didn’t  _ want _ the First Order to find them.  His brain came to an absolute stop: He had told his soldiers to apprehend Leia, but what was going to happen once they had done just that? He hadn’t seen his mother in years.  What would he say to her? What would the First Order think of him taking her prisoner? If the Resistance were there along with his mother, would Rey be with them, too?

 

Ren closed his eyes and inhaled a breath.  It always felt dangerous when his thoughts lead to Rey.  She was his opposite and yet his exact equal in every possible way.  She was a blooming light to combat his crippling darkness and it ached him to no end that she had shut him out.  There was no one else like her, no one else that could even come close to being on his level like she could. They broke Luke’s lightsaber as proof.  His mind replayed that memory of the two of them fighting over the damned blade. It should have belonged to him, the Heir Apparent to Darth Vader and the Skywalker bloodline.

 

And yet...it called out to Rey, a simple scavenger from a filthy junk trading planet.  

 

He stood up from his bed, his right hand outstretched to the table against the wall.  His lightsaber wobbled from it’s place where he had set it down, and flew into his hand with such force that it might have broken it.  He clipped his saber to his belt, the familiarity of his weapon being within mere inches of his grasp gave him a sickening version of comfort.  This was an extraction mission. His soldiers were to only apprehend his mother and he would detain her, keep her some sort of safe. And Rey? If she were there, what would she do to him? Would she go with him and Leia? Would she get killed?

 

_ Rey won’t go with you.  She has lost all faith in you.  She wants you dead. _

 

Ren scoffed, a bit of a smirk played at his lips as he adjusted his cape back on to his tunic top.  Rey didn’t want him dead. She wanted to save him. She wasn’t going to kill him.

 

_ But what if killing you is how Rey saves you? _

 

It was a thought that had crossed his mind, more often than the not.  The thought of Rey ending his life, whether it was by her free will and she wanted to, with her having no choice or by him asking her to, had plagued his mind more often than he would care to admit.  He figured it could have been a number of other things, a Resistance fighter with a lucky shot, a pilot with good aim in an X-wing, and he always suspected Hux of plotting to kill him at least once a day.  But when the sheer idea that it very well could be that Rey was the one to end him, it filled him with something he was not familiar with.

 

“Supreme Leader!” someone shouted outside his door after pounding three times.  “General Hux says the troopers have been briefed and the ship is ready for transport.”

 

Ren reached up and pressed the button to exit his chambers, the First Order officer not far behind him.  He swallowed the lump in his throat, thickly, his lightsaber brushed up against his fingers hidden beneath his cape.  He flexed his fingers, his lightsaber quickly unbuckled and found its way within Ren’s grasp. 

 

In all his years of wielding such a weapon, he was certain he had never held it tighter than he did now.

* * *

_ You nailed the landing there, kiddo! _

 

Ren jolted awake in his chair, his eyes snapping open as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.  The pilot of their small transport ship had unceremoniously landed just a little under 2 miles away from the base.  They were in an unmarked ship they had acquired on their last excursion to Canto Bight, a member of their team had suggested it to prevent the Resistance from knowing it was them.  Ren examined the troopers around him as he walked with the small battalion; Hux had gathered a group of 9 stormtroopers to accompany them to Devaron. Ren clenched his jaw and breathed in through his nose, allowing his thoughts to reach out through the Force.  The energies of the people around him gave off an aura that was focused. They were determined to get their job done. To eradicate the Resistance would solidify this small group of troopers as war heroes amongst the First Order. A chance to cement that the First Order was the true dominant power in the galaxy once and for all.

 

Ren focused again, allowing his mind to blend with the Force.  His vision outlined the dark silhouette of a decrepit building.  A building that was housing the Resistance. He was sure of it. He could feel a presence within that building.  He counted that it took them 36 minutes and 18 seconds to find the base and set up a perimeter; the base itself wasn’t that big.  Ren stepped forward into a small clearing roughly 35 feet from the building, the Resistance members within the base had gathered all together above ground, no stragglers had hidden elsewhere.  Hux took his place next to Ren, the platoon of troopers began to advance on the building with their blasters raised. Hux raised his hand, the signal they needed to proceed.

 

They had their orders: Extract Leia Organa unharmed, eradicate the Resistance.

Something prodded Ren’s mind.  A jolt in the Force alerted him.  Almost as if to warn him. Within seconds, Ren’s hearing was engulfed with the piercing sounds of the blasters going off.  He turned to Hux, the General’s glare held on to the building. Slowly, Ren turned back and looked at the base, his brows were drawn in confusion.  The squad gave no indication that they had acquired their target before they opened fire. Ren tried to focus harder on the Resistance in the building, and the firing ceased.  The smoke from the blaster shots crept out of the windows and seeped through the cracks in the foundation. He closed his eyes briefly, letting his thoughts reach out to try and pinpoint his mother.  Trying to see if Rey was there. 

 

But all his mind could sense and all that he could hear was silence.

 

Ren gave Hux an angry glare as he walked toward the base, the squad of stormtroopers scrambled out upon realizing their Supreme Leader had been approaching.  Ren entered the base and walked about, what little sunlight could have peeked through the broken windows filtered through the dust and smoke. The Force alerted him again.  The same warning as before. Ren closed his eyes again, letting his mind be fully clear and focusing on the silence that surrounded him within the base. His hearing...there was a ringing to it.  A ringing he knew was gradually getting slower, slower… it  _ stopped _ .  The Force enveloped Ren’s being entirely, letting every fiber of his body thrum with the energy of such a power.  It coursed through him, tensing his muscles, clenching his chest with an ever-so slight discomfort. His hand went to his belt, unbuckling the lightsaber free from its place at his hip.  He palmed the weapon, allowing himself to realize what the discomfort in his chest had truly meant…

 

_ The Resistance was never here.  You were tricked. _

 

Something was indeed here, but it was not the Resistance, and whatever it was, had scattered off.  He should have figured that this is how it would have happened: a mutiny lead by Hux. No lucky shot by a Resistance soldier, no pilot with an X-wing that had good aim, and not even Rey ending his life.  No. It was all Hux. A twig snapped outside, causing Ren’s head to automatically turn in the direction of the sound. A flash of white obstructed the corner of his vision, and another jolt in the Force warned him of the troopers surrounding the small base.  There were nine of them, if he remembered correctly. Nine stormtroopers he told Hux to make sure were the best at doing what they do. What a fool he was for thinking this was going to go exactly the way he wanted, and damn him for not realizing it was a trap.  If the troopers had spread themselves out too thinly, perhaps he could kill them all. His brain ran thousands of miles a minute, calculating every possible scenario in which he could survive this. Only one seemed the most probable to ensure he lived.

 

Take out Hux and the others will more than likely fall back.

Ren’s lips pressed into a hard thin line as he stepped in the doorway that lead outside.  Hux stood with the remaining five troopers around him, his hands clasped behind his back, his stance as stoic as ever.  The dark-haired man scanned his surroundings briefly, noting three troopers on Hux’s right and two on his left. He felt the other four remaining troopers that were guarding the back way into the base slowly begin to creep their way so they could keep the back side of him within their sights.  All of them had their blasters trained squarely at him. Even the most slightest of miscalculations meant that he was a dead man. The grip on his lightsaber had tightened, his brain not knowing that he was doing it until he felt the leather of his glove constrict his hand.

 

“All your power… All your tricks… And you couldn’t see this coming?”  Hux said, his lips turning upwards into a serpent-like grin. His right arm came to rest in front of him, though his left arm still remained behind his back.  “Evermore present proof that Snoke’s faith had been placed into a petulant child.”

 

The tree-splitting shot of a blaster bolt and the whoosh of a crackling lightsaber enveloped the Devaronian jungle.

 

And as he released a breath he didn’t even realizing he was holding in, the world had fallen silent around Ren.

  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
